Partners will develop and manufacture wireless biosensor patches, wearables and related devices, due to foreseen ‘big opportunity’ in wireless healthcare wearables. The first product is a disposable, multi-parameter WiPointTM patch to continuously monitor cardiac and respiration signals.

(Fremont, CA) – HMicro, a leading developer of wireless silicon platforms and reference devices for healthcare biosensors and mission-critical ‘Internet of Things’ products, and Dreamtech, a leading provider of modules, applications and solutions for mobile phones, healthcare, and automobiles, have partnered to develop and manufacture reference subsystem products such as biosensor patches and associated wireless receivers.

HMicro’s vision is to ‘untether’ the patient from the cables of traditional vital sign monitors by creating equivalent wireless solutions. Uniquest, a leading distributor of silicon chips and solutions, is an investor in HMicro, and the parent company of Korea-based Dreamtech.

The first reference product created by Dreamtech’s and HMicro’s close collaboration is the WiPoint multi-parameter disposable, wireless patch (HP1110) that continuously monitors and transmits multi-lead electrocardiogram, heart rate and respiration signals. The patch is based on a single WiPoint chip (HC1100) jointly developed in collaboration with ST Microelectronics. The HC1100 integrates all needed functions for a clinical grade patch – multiple radios, multiple sensor interfaces, application processor subsystem and power management unit –and functions with a low-cost, disposable coin battery. The WiPoint patch can be used up to five days and disposed thereafter. It’s the first fully disposable patch created in such a small form, providing wire-grade, robust, wireless links

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HMicro and Dreamtech are also creating receiver devices for capturing data from wireless patches that use the WiPoint chip technology, and sending it to appropriate monitoring platforms such as patient monitors, Holter monitors and access points for cloud infrastructure. The suite of reference products jointly developed between HMicro and Dreamtech are being adapted by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of healthcare devices.

Said Surendar Magar, Ph.D., president and CEO of HMicro, “Our two enterprises will work with OEMs to produce customized products. Reference products such as HP1110 accelerate the development time and market introduction of OEMs’ healthcare products based on HMicro’s WiPoint technology.”

Magar continued, “We are excited by Dreamtech’s commitment to the field of healthcare wearables, mobile device manufacturing enables it to produce wireless disposable healthcare devices at high quality and at competitive cost. It will greatly help HMicro realize our vision of converting the billions of wired biosensors currently consumed per year to the wireless domain by working with mainstream OEMs of healthcare devices.”

“Dreamtech sees a big business opportunity in the emerging area of healthcare wearables and associated devices. In addition to significant volumes in hospitals and clinics, we see clinical quality disposable wearables and patches becoming an important accessory to mobile devices in remote monitoring settings,” said Young Kim, Dreamtech CEO. He continued, “We are impressed by HMicro’s WiPoint silicon platform and HMicro’s cross functional expertise in semiconductors, electronics systems and healthcare. We are excited to share HMicro’s vision of wireless domain healthcare biosensors and associated receivers. We are producing optimized healthcare products at rapid speed by closely working with HMicro and will keep evolving WiPoint family products by integrating various sensors for consumer wellness and healthcare markets.”

Dreamtech’s parent company, Uniquest, has invested in HMicro’s Series B and Series C funding rounds. Andrew Kim, CEO of Uniquest, added, “We saw a great fit between HMicro and Dreamtech from the outset. In addition to breakthrough products in the healthcare arena, we see HMicro’s silicon devices being useful to create certain industrial IoT products. Uniquest and Dreamtech are targeting both the healthcare and IoT markets for its respective businesses.”

HMicro Inc. is the first mover in a new generation silicon-based wireless sensing platform and associated subsystem products for medical companies requiring highly-integrated, cost-effective modules for use in demanding medical sensing and data communication applications. HMicro delivers its solution as the WiPoint silicon, biosensor patches, and access points, which provide our customers fast time-to-market and are supported by a wide range of technical and manufacturing capabilities. Our WiPoint wireless technology provides wired-class reliability in small form factors with exceptional energy efficiency—a truly unique combination that enables our customers to develop distinctive and disruptive products. For more information, please visit www.hmicro.com.

About Dreamtech

Founded in 1998, Dreamtech engages in designing and manufacturing modular solutions for mobile, automotive, and healthcare appliances. Working closely with customers from the product development phase, Dreamtech
develops customized modules that satisfy the customers’ functional needs as well as cost requirements. Dreamtech operates 8 factories, which located in cost effective countries such as China and Vietnam. Its major products include integrated printed board assembly (“PBA”), various sensor modules including fingerprint sensors, and other modules for mobile phones, LED modules for automobiles, and touch screen panels (“TSP”) modules for large-sized touch displays. For more information, please visit www.idreamtech.co.kr.

The WiPoint platform was specifically designed to address the challenging requirements of wireless peripherals in healthcare and the broad Internet of Things (IoT), particularly areas demanding industrial grade reliability. It integrates the RivieraWaves Wi-Fi IP together with HMicro developed RF/analog and other technologies including Ultra WideBand (UWB) and Medical Band (MB) radios to form a power-optimized triple-mode hybrid radio based solution that seamlessly transitions between the three options as needed, maximizing link integrity and ensuring the lowest power option is chosen when more than one is available. The Wi-Fi portion of the radio is optimized for excellent energy efficiency—days of continuous operation from a coin cell – enabling applications previously not feasible with Wi-Fi. The WiPoint technology platform is already in design with leading medical equipment manufacturers developing wireless monitoring patches that sense patient vital signs and other metrics.

“At HMicro, we’re addressing the technical challenges of new IoT applications where many tens of devices in close proximity require data streaming of high integrity, simultaneously,” said Surendar Magar, CEO of HMicro. “CEVA’s silicon proven Wi-Fi IP helped us immensely to deliver an outstanding solution offering great reliability and power efficiency at low cost in a very small footprint and allowed us to significantly simplify the design effort of the Wi-Fi portion of our WiPoint SoC (system-on-chip).”

Aviv Malinovitch, vice president and general manager of CEVA’s Connectivity business unit, commented: “HMicro is bringing a unique approach to wireless communications for healthcare and IoT and is well positioned to capture the huge potential of these markets. We are delighted to partner with them for their Wi-Fi requirements and look forward to continued success together.”

HMicro Inc. is the first mover in a new generation silicon-based wireless sensing platform and associated subsystem products for medical companies requiring highly-integrated, cost-effective modules for use in demanding medical sensing and data communication applications. HMicro delivers its solution as the WiPoint silicon, biosensor patches, and access points, which provide our customers fast time-to-market and are supported by a wide range of technical and manufacturing capabilities. Our WiPoint wireless technology provides wired-class reliability in small form factors with exceptional energy efficiency—a truly unique combination that enables our customers to develop distinctive and disruptive products. For more information, please visit www.hmicro.com or find us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About CEVA, Inc.

CEVA is the leading licensor of signal processing IP for a smarter, connected world. We partner with semiconductor companies and OEMs worldwide to create power-efficient, intelligent and connected devices for a range of end markets, including mobile, consumer, automotive, industrial and IoT. Our ultra-low-power IPs for vision, audio, communications and connectivity include comprehensive DSP-based platforms for LTE/LTE-A/5G baseband processing in handsets, infrastructure and machine-to-machine devices, computer vision and computational photography for any camera-enabled device, audio/voice/speech and ultra-low power always-on/sensing applications for multiple IoT markets. For connectivity, we offer the industry’s most widely adopted IPs for Bluetooth (BLE and Dual Mode), Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac up to 4×4) and serial storage (SATA and SAS). Visit us at www.ceva-dsp.com and follow us on Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

⦁ Technology platform developed by HMicro and ST also targets other high-volume clinical and industrial-IoT applications

Fremont, CA, and Geneva, Switzerland, October 4, 2016 – HMicro, Inc., a wireless solutions developer of innovative products engineered to address the unique requirements of wireless peripherals and complex biosensor applications, and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronic applications, have launched their cooperation to create the industry’s first single-chip solution for clinical-grade, single-use disposable smart patches and biosensors. The product, HC1100, targets the 5 billion wired wearable sensors, such as those for vital-sign monitors and electrocardiogram leads, utilized annually.

The HC1100 chip is based on the WiPoint™ technology and a purpose-built silicon platform jointly created by HMicro and ST. HC1100, the first product based on WiPoint, embeds three ultra-low-power radios for Wi-Fi, Ultra-wideband, and Medical Band (MBAN), multiple sensor interfaces, an ARM® Cortex® M0 application processor, 352kB of RAM, and power-management circuits on a single chip. The dual-core ARM Cortex M0 architecture leverages ST ultra-low-power design technology and wireless-connectivity IP to ensure long worry-free operation. The multi-sensor interfaces support monitoring of heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and respiration, as well as the capability to interface to MEMS microphones and motion MEMS sensors that could be used to monitor and detect patient behavior via activity recognition. The HC1100’s patent-protected specifications meet key requirements for mission-critical products and functions that demand ultra-high reliability through a robust wireless connection suitable for high sensor-data accuracy. While meeting these uncompromising demands, the HC1100 is both cost-effective and highly optimized.

The WiPoint technology and the HC1100 employing it are the first results of the close cooperation between HMicro and ST. The Companies’ next step is the deployment of this technology platform for other high-volume clinical and industrial IoT applications.

“Disrupting the current wired protocols of multi-monitor use is where we believe the IoT can be most effective in the medical and industrial settings,” said Surendar Magar, CEO and co-founder of HMicro, Inc. “Creating and developing a fully optimized, unique silicon platform makes possible the conversion of high-volume sensors to the equivalent wireless, disposable sensors. We aim to seamlessly cut the body wires in current clinical settings while maintaining the same clinical procedures and monitoring equipment.”

“One decade ago we started the MEMS revolution by offering ultra-low-power cost-effective micro sensors to the consumer market. Now, together with HMicro we are merging ultra-low-power wireless connectivity with a high-resolution analog front-end and the best processing portfolio based on ARM platform,” said Benedetto Vigna, EVP and GM of STMicroelectronics’ Analog and MEMS Group. “The HC1100 is the first product of the new wireless sensor family that can find application whenever ultra-low-power RF and highly accurate sensor interfaces are needed.”

The HC1100 is already in high-volume production and is available from HMicro.

About HMicro, Inc.

HMicro Inc. is the first mover in a new generation silicon-based wireless sensing platform and associated subsystem products for medical companies requiring highly-integrated, cost-effective modules for use in demanding medical sensing and data communication applications. HMicro delivers its solution as the WiPoint silicon, biosensor patches, and access points, which provide our customers fast time-to-market and are supported by a wide range of technical and manufacturing capabilities. Our WiPoint wireless technology provides wired-class reliability in small form factors with exceptional energy efficiency—a truly unique combination that enables our customers to develop distinctive and disruptive products. For more information, please visit www.hmicro.com.

About STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM)

ST is a global semiconductor leader delivering intelligent and energy-efficient products and solutions that power the electronics at the heart of everyday life. ST’s products are found everywhere today, and together with our customers, we are enabling smarter driving and smarter factories, cities and homes, along with the next generation of mobile and Internet of Things devices.
By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented. In 2015, the Company’s net revenues were $6.90 billion, serving more than 100,000 customers worldwide. Further information can be found at www.st.com.

(Fremont, CA) – HMicro, Inc., a global company that creates system-on-a-chip biosensor platform technology for medical device manufacturers, today announced that it has closed $10.2 million in investment financing. Investors included dominant strategic OEM partners who will be commercializing HMicro-enabled products in health care markets. Existing investors XSeed Capital, Seraph Group, and Uniquest also participated in the financing.

“This strategic investment by new OEM partners who will be utilizing the HMicro’s chip solution technology in specific clinical applications, is a strong indication of confidence in the attributes of the system-on-a-chip as a powerful engine for wireless sensor solutions, as well as the capability of HMicro’s expertise and reputation as a co-development partner,” said Surendar Magar, Ph.D., founder and Chief Executive Officer of HMicro, Inc.

Michael Borrus, founding general partner of XSeed Capital added, “This news confirms our confidence in HMicro to leverage deep industry expertise in creating chip solutions that serve real clinical needs both now and in the future.” He added, “Strategic partners are already using HMicro’s unique technology platform to deliver new products and services that were not previously possible.”

Tuff Yen, founder and president of Seraph Group said, “We are passionate about the kind of health care innovation and focus that HMicro is bringing to the fore. We have supported HMicro from the outset.”

The proceeds from Series C financing will be used to fund the company’s continuing development and commercialization of HMicro’s biosensor platform that includes a proprietary chip having multi-sensor interfaces and multiple radios, disposable wireless patch and mobile and fixed location receiver devices.

“We are excited to expand our equity partnerships to firms who will be immediately leveraging our technology into their development initiatives and customer solution roadmaps. Migrating clinical healthcare to the wireless domain is a huge challenge which we believe is best met by pooling resources from committed supply and OEM partners. HMicro has subscribed to this business model from the outset and has accordingly defined it financing strategy. We will be announcing our relationships with various partners in the coming months,” said Magar.

About HMicro, Inc.

HMicro Inc. is the first mover in a new generation silicon-based wireless sensing platform and associated subsystem products for medical companies requiring highly-integrated, cost-effective modules for use in demanding medical sensing and data communication applications. HMicro delivers its solution as the WiPoint silicon, biosensor patches, and access points, which provide our customers fast time-to-market and are supported by a wide range of technical and manufacturing capabilities. Our WiPoint wireless technology provides wired-class reliability in small form factors with exceptional energy efficiency—a truly unique combination that enables our customers to develop distinctive and disruptive products. For more information, please visit www.hmicro.com.

HMicro becomes a member of the Flextronics Lab IX startup program, gains access to innovative design and advanced manufacturing capabilities

(Fremont, CA) — HMicro, a wireless solutions firm developing integrated products for medical, industrial and the broad Internet of Things, announced today that it is partnering with Flextronics as a member of its Lab IX program. Flextronics Lab IX provides a hardware ecosystem that brings together startups, OEMs, and technology partners to help disruptive technology companies close the gap from prototype to production. This collaboration will provide HMicro with access to Flextronics’ world-class innovative design and engineering support, advanced global manufacturing and supply chain and distribution expertise.

The partnership includes an equity investment as well as engineering support and access to advanced manufacturing technologies that combines HMicro’s innovative REACH™ Wireless Technology with Flextronics state-of the-art design and manufacturing.

“Lab IX exists to help hardware startups with disruptive technology execute to their full potential, and we are delighted to add HMicro to our portfolio,” said Oshri Kaplan, Director at Flextronics Lab IX. “With an innovative wireless design from a superlatively talented and experienced team that has a track record of success, HMicro aligns perfectly with Lab IX’s goal to partner and enable connected world start-ups.”

HMicro as a Lab IX Portfolio Company

Flextronics’ design and manufacturing capabilities will enable HMicro’s requirements to bring the company’s groundbreaking REACH Wireless Technology to market. As a Lab IX portfolio member, HMicro now has access to an outstanding array of technology from a widely recognized global leader for development and production of its products – capabilities that are typically available only to the largest ODM’s worldwide.

“Flextronics Lab IX is a perfect partner for us,” said Surendar Magar, CEO of HMicro. “They have the expertise to bring our innovative REACH-based products to market quickly, and readily support our customers’ high-volume requirements.”

As part of their partnership, Lab IX and HMicro will jointly develop a small integrated module that greatly simplifies design, requiring only an external antenna and battery to build a complete wireless node. Other product will include an ECG Patch and Adaptor which will “cut the wire” in patient monitoring.

About Flextronics Lab IX

Flextronics’ Lab IX is creating the world’s largest hardware ecosystem by bringing together startups, OEMs, and technology partners. Flextronics created Lab IX to help disruptive technology companies cross the chasm from prototype to production. Lab IX offers startups and entrepreneurs around the world the ultimate partnership that can help any hardware initiative become a leading hardware venture with the fastest time to market. Lab IX
hardware accelerator program is a part of Flextronics, a global leader in design, manufacturing, distribution, and aftermarket services. To learn more about Lab IX and Flextronics, visit http: www.labix.io.

About HMicro Inc.

HMicro Inc. is the first mover in a new generation silicon-based wireless sensing platform and associated subsystem products for medical companies requiring highly-integrated, cost-effective modules for use in demanding medical sensing and data communication applications. HMicro delivers its solution as the WiPoint silicon, biosensor patches, and access points, which provide our customers fast time-to-market and are supported by a wide range of technical and manufacturing capabilities. Our WiPoint wireless technology provides wired-class reliability in small form factors with exceptional energy efficiency—a truly unique combination that enables our customers to develop distinctive and disruptive products. For more information, please visit www.hmicro.com.

New investors led by Seraph Group; Reddy Capital Partners, X/Seed Capital Partners add to their Series A investments

Fremont, California (PRWEB) October 21, 2014 — HMicro, a wireless solutions firm developing integrated products for medical, industrial and the broad Internet of Things, announced today that it has secured $5.5M in Series B funding. The equity investment will support HMicro’s continuing development and commercialization of its innovative REACH™ Wireless Technology.

The announcement comes as demand grows for a new class of wireless peripherals for many different applications. These wireless peripherals make demands on existing infrastructure for bandwidth, connectivity and QoS while needing to maintain functionality and performance within strict power budgets for portable electronics.

HMicro assembled an expert wireless team to resolving this growing challenge in the effective deployment of wireless peripherals. The team’s track record of success in previous startups and its progress in cooperatively developing system-level wireless solutions in target markets led to the company closing a successful second round of financing, which saw previous investors increasing their stake while being joined by new investors.

Multi-Spectrum Wireless Solutions

The increasing difficulty for wireless peripherals lies in the limitations of current wireless communications protocols and their available spectra. Conventional wireless platforms such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were developed for mobile computing applications such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. New wireless applications demand greater bandwidth to accommodate multitudes of devices requiring data streaming of high integrity, with devices operating simultaneously in close proximity. Conventional wireless platforms suffer from limited functionality under demanding conditions. Furthermore, wireless peripherals require direct network access as opposed to depending on a bridge as a network gateway, another limitation of Bluetooth and near-field technologies.

HMicro’s REACH wireless technology addresses the technical challenges of a wireless world with devices competing for spectrum access while operating on limited power. REACH provides wired-class data reliability, native TCP/IP support, and the ability to stream high data rates with exceptional power efficiency.

Reshaping the Medical Industry

HMicro’s patented REACH Wireless Technology was conceived to satisfy the stringent wireless reliability requirements of medical applications at costs equivalent to legacy wired solutions. This industry is undergoing dramatic changes on a worldwide basis including migration to wireless monitoring. By employing HMicro’s highly integrated REACH module solution, medical equipment manufacturers can develop monitoring devices that sense patient vital signs and other metrics with wireless patches that deliver high connection reliability in small form factors. The technology is also well-suited to challenging IoT applications with similar requirements.

“Our team has applied deep wireless expertise and worked collaboratively with high-profile OEMs in the medical industry to realize our breakthrough REACH SoC (system-on-chip) wireless solution.” said Surendar Magar, CEO of HMicro. “The proven design expertise of our team in creating high volume silicon products coupled with a partnership-driven business model has enabled us to develop these complex SoC solutions with modest investments.”

Investors Old and New Affirm HMicro Technology Thru B Round Financing

The $5.5M investment tranche provides working capital for HMicro to complete development of its wireless solutions and release highly integrated module products later this year. With multiple customer engagements already underway, HMicro demonstrated to the investor community the value of its commercial vision, breakthrough technology and the strength of its engineering talent, provoking additional financing from its existing venture partners as well as attracting new investors to join.

“We’ve been with HMicro since the beginning and continue to be impressed with the company’s technology as well as their progress in engagements with system OEMs,” said N.D. Reddy of Reddy Capital Partners. “The opportunities for REACH wireless technology in the Medical sector are broad, and we are excited to be a part of it.”

“HMicro’s combination of huge market potential, unique technical achievement and wide applications is a winning formula and the exact type of company Seraph is proud of partnering with,” said Tuff Yen, President of Seraph Group. “’With our vast network of over 200 business leaders and entrepreneurs from 25 cities, Seraph Group brings significant support to help HMicro’s very seasoned and experienced team. We can’t be more excited!”

About HMicro, Inc.

HMicro Inc. is the first mover in a new generation silicon-based wireless sensing platform and associated subsystem products for medical companies requiring highly-integrated, cost-effective modules for use in demanding medical sensing and data communication applications. HMicro delivers its solution as the WiPoint silicon, biosensor patches, and access points, which provide our customers fast time-to-market and are supported by a wide range of technical and manufacturing capabilities. Our WiPoint wireless technology provides wired-class reliability in small form factors with exceptional energy efficiency—a truly unique combination that enables our customers to develop distinctive and disruptive products. For more information, please visit www.hmicro.com.